Abstract: The present invention provides a bearing comprised of a hydrodynamic bearing and a pivot bearing, which can be used with a spindle motor. It also provides a spindle motor utilizing a hydrodynamic bearing and a pivot bearing.

Abstract: A stepping motor stator stack and rotor stack finishing method whereby the burrs remaining on the small tooth surfaces of the stacks can be eliminated and prevented from lodging in the spaces between laminations of a plurality of stacked steel plates, without causing dulling of these small teeth. After abrasive finishing is carried out, a high pressure liquid jet spray nozzle is introduced into the central cylindrical cavity of a stator stack, and while the nozzle is moved along the central axis of the central cylindrical cavity and rotated relatively centered on the central axis of the central cylindrical cavity, the high pressure liquid jet is sprayed from the jet orifices striking the small tooth surfaces of the stator stack facing the central cylindrical cavity so as to remove the burrs remaining on the small tooth surfaces.

Abstract: A hydrodynamic bearing for use in a spindle motor, having a shaft, a bearing sleeve encompassing the shaft with a small radial space, and a skewback at one end face of the bearing sleeve which is fixedly connected to the bearing sleeve. The shaft features a thrust plate or a conical or cone-like extension at its end face which faces the skewback. The diameter of the conical extension increases in the direction of the end face of the shaft. A bearing gap formed between the shaft and the bearing sleeve is filled with a bearing fluid. Dynamic pressure generating grooves are provided on one of the outer surface of the shaft and the inner surface of the bearing sleeve to generate an excess pressure in the bearing fluid.

Abstract: A slack-forming mechanism for stator coils that is able to impart slack of appropriate size to the stator coil without imposing an excessively heavy burden on the coiling machine. The slack-forming mechanism includes a coiling machine attachment jig having a protruding member that passes through a clearance formed between a stator body and connector, and has a top edge positioned higher than a clearance pass-through part of a stator coil. As it is possible to form slack in the stator coil without changing the configuration of the coiling machine, deficiencies in prior art slack-forming mechanisms are overcome such as the difficulty of maintaining uniform slack amounts, and unreliability. Moreover, since design-related restrictions are few, an adequately large slack is imparted to the stator coil to adequately suppress breakage of the stator coil induced by temperature change.

Abstract: An axial flow fan motor having an impeller molded integrally with a shaft from a synthetic resin. The shaft is easily assembled with a bearing arrangement by being brought into tight contact with the inner ring of the bearing arrangement and is reliably fixed thereto in the elastic region of the shaft. A through hole is formed in the shaft along its central axis. After the shaft is fit into the inner ring of the bearing arrangement, a metal pin is pressed into the axial through hole. Because the pin is pressed in, the shaft is elastically expanded and brought into tight contact with the inner ring and fixed thereto in the elastic region of the shaft. Furthermore, the distal end portion of the shaft elastically outwardly expands and is pressed against the end surface of the inner ring, thereby preventing the bearing arrangement from coming off the shaft.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus having a belt supporting frame for supporting an intermediate transfer belt is provided. The belt supporting frame may be separable into a plurality of unit bodies. Separation of the plurality of unit bodies may be regulated by a bending mechanism, wherein the plurality of unit bodies may be separable in a direction orthogonal to the transporting direction of the intermediate transfer belt. The plurality of unit bodies may also be regulated by a variable length mechanism capable of expanding and contracting the plurality of unit bodies in a direction parallel to the transporting direction of the intermediate transfer belt. Separation of the belt supporting frame into a plurality of unit bodies may allow for a circumference area smaller than that of the intermediate transfer belt to be formed so as to provide for simplified mounting, removal and maintenance of the intermediate transfer belt on the belt supporting frame.

Abstract: A pivot assembly that narrows the gap of the seal member as much as possible and can effectively restrain the diffusion of gas and dirt from the inside, and, moreover, can also solve the problem of out gas from a hub cap, is presented. The pivot assembly has ball bearings mated to both ends of a shaft, a spacer mated to a sleeve disposed between both ball bearings at the outer circumferences of these ball bearings, and has a hub cap member that covers the outside end face of the ball bearings at one end of the shaft. The hub cap is laser welded to the outer circumference of the shaft and the inner circumference of the sleeve, and after laser welding, is thin-width cut by a laser along the entire circumference at the radial middle part.

Abstract: A spindle motor for use in hard disk drives having a base plate, a stationary shaft, a rotationally driven rotor, and a bearing system rotationally supporting the rotationally driven rotor. The shaft is fixedly mounted on the base plate. The base plate includes a drilled hole for insertion of a portion of the shaft such that this shaft's portion and the inner surface of the hole define a joint length l, when this portion is pressed into the drilled hole. The shaft has at least one notch located along the shaft's circumference and interrupting the joint length l.

Abstract: An impact printing apparatus is also disclosed with printing pin actuation timing correction dependent upon scanning speed or platen shape, striking duration timing dependent upon scanning rate, or printing pin actuation timing dependent upon stored shift amounts.

Abstract: The bearing device contains two rolling bearings installed on a shaft 9 and a preload is applied to the inner ring of the rolling bearings. The respective dimension for the two rolling bearing inner rings is shortened on both sides in the orientation of the width dimensions of the inner ring, centered on the grooves for the inner ring, with each being set smaller than the dimension of the outer rings. The difference in dimensions is double the difference in the dimensions capable of eliminating rattling of the rolling bearings, when a preload is applied to the outer edge of the inner ring. The outer rings and races are respectively formed to be in a position at half the width dimension of the inner ring from the outer edges of the two outer rings for the two rolling bearings.

Abstract: A retainer having an annular body with a plurality of pockets. Each pocket has a pair of corner portions that form an opening. The pockets have a spherical inside surface and a pair of tapered surfaces. Alternatively, the pockets can have a spherical inside surface and at least two pairs of tapered surfaces. The geometry of the pockets including the corner portions has rotational symmetry. The retainer improves lubricant retention, and reduces vibration, noise and non-repeating run out.

Abstract: An image detection processor of the present invention enhances the processing speed of the calculation of the center of gravity or the like of a target with a simple constitution. The image detection processor arranges a plurality of image detection processing elements 1-1 to 1-64 on a plane. Each image detection processing element includes an adder circuit 15 which converts an output of a photoelectric conversion part 5 into digital signals and can receive the digital signals as an input in a matrix form. Cumulative adders are constituted by connecting the adder circuits 15 for respective rows. Series adders 2-1 to 2-8 which are connected in series respectively receive outputs of final stages of cumulative adders of respective rows as inputs and can cumulatively add these outputs.

Abstract: To provide a wire rod forming machine for which it is possible to increase the production speed above that of the prior art. In the ring-forming machine 10 of the present configuration, between the respective edges 42 and 51 of the moving die 40 and the fixed punch 50, a prescribed location of the belt-shaped wire rod 90 is sheared and the ring 91 is cut off from the belt-shaped wire rod 90. Then, by pushing the ring 91 that was cut off with the moving die 40, the ring is forcibly removed from the forming tools 31, 32 and 33. Therefore, the speed of removal of the ring 91 can be coupled to the acceleration of the manufacturing speed and increased, allowing the production speed to be improved compared to that of the prior art. In addition, since the ring 91 that is cut off from the belt-shaped wire rod 90, pushed by the moving die 40, moves to the end side of the shaft shaped chute 34 to be collected, transport to the next process becomes easy.

Abstract: A fan wherein an airflow adjustment device is used to make fine adjustments to the air discharged by the blower and a method of adjusting a fan's airflow by attaching a flow adjustment device.

Abstract: This keyboard spill-proofing mechanism reduces and prevents damage to the electronic circuitry in keyboard that would normally occur due to inadvertent spillages of liquids, such as water, coffee or soda, onto the keyboard. This keyboard spill-proofing mechanism features a membrane sheet positioned below the top case. The membrane sheet includes multiple layers that have electrical circuits. The electrical circuits detect the off/on state of the key caps when they are pressed. The keyboard design features a waterproof base sheet made of an adhesive material that is positioned between the top case and the membrane sheet. The waterproof base sheet is designed such that a plurality of rubber springs connected thereon transmit the off/on state of the key caps to the electrical circuits in the membrane sheet.

Abstract: When intending gradational representation of each of the dots composing the image by changing the amount of light emission of each of the dots composing an image by changing the amount of light emission of said light emitting diode, the magnitude of each of the dots becomes reduced resulting in unstable reproducibility of dot. This causes damage in the regularity of the distribution of image density and the graininess of the printed image increases. The invention aims to provide an image forming apparatus which can decrease granularity (graininess) by simple and inexpensive construction by defocusing on the photo conductor the light ray passing through the lens array of the exposing device in the image forming apparatus in accordance with the percentage of the luminous dots changed in the amount of light emission among the dots composing the image. This prevents the occurrence of irregular density distribution in the latent image on the photo conductor drum.

Abstract: To provide a coil bobbin structure that allows intersection of the wire to be avoided with a simple structure and improved reliability to be attained, while at the same time, allowing the possible use of automatic winding machines.

Abstract: A spindle motor for use in a disk drive including a shaft and a bearing sleeve. The shaft has a larger diameter section and a smaller diameter section with a step formed therebetween. The bearing sleeve has a central cylindrical opening, the shaft being inserted into the central cylindrical opening. A bearing gap is formed between the shaft and the bearing sleeve, the bearing gap being filled with lubricating fluid. A first hydrodynamic thrust bearing is formed in the area of the step. A hydrodynamic radial bearing is formed in the area of the larger diameter section of said shaft.

Abstract: The electrically motorized pump has a low energy loss because it uses of the shaft and the sleeve made from synthetic resin composition obtained by uniformly dispersing fine powder of RBC or CRBC in a resin. The typical process for the production of a synthetic resin composition for making the sleeve bearing for the pump for use in water includes kneading with a resin the fine powder of RBC or CRBC at a temperature in the neighborhood of the melting point of the resin, and thereby uniformly dispersing the fine powder of RBC or CRBC in the resin. Fibers, such as glass fibers, may be blended with the fine powder of RBC or CRBC and the resin.